1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera, or more particularly, a camera having a lens cover for shielding and protecting the face of a photography lens so that the face of the photography lens can be opened or closed freely.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, various kinds of cameras for carrying out photography, in which a lens cover that may be referred to as a lens barrier protects the face of a photography lens by shielding the face of a fixed lens barrel so that the face of the fixed lens barrel can be opened or closed freely, have been proposed and generally used in practice.
For example, a camera described in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 63-26832 is such that: a fixed lens barrel capable of being freely stowed in a camera body or thrust from it is provided with a vertically-bisected lens cover; and the lens cover is opened or closed responsively to stowing or thrusting of the fixed lens barrel.
Moreover, a camera described in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 57-116933 has a lens cover for flatly closing the face of a fixed lens barrel at the time of stowing the fixed lens barrel capable of being freely stowed in a camera body or thrust from it. When the fixed lens barrel moves from a collapsed position to a photographic position, the lens cover pivots with the lower end of the camera body as a shaft center and withdraws from the face of the photography lens.
Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. 61-31308 describes a camera in which a fixed lens barrel is designed to be able to be freely stowed in a camera body or thrust from it, and a bi-directionally opening lens cover for flatly closing the face of the fixed lens barrel at the time of stowing the fixed lens barrel is attached to a camera body separately from the fixed lens barrel.
Furthermore, a camera having a collapsible fixed lens barrel which is described in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 3-47536 is such that a lens cover that is created by bisecting a round member substantially in the center of the round member is located in the vicinity of the face of a fixed lens barrel so that when the lens cover is constrained to move in a direction in which the lens cover is closed by means of a spring, the lens cover can pivot freely vertically.
When the fixed lens barrel moves from a collapsed position to a photographic position, the lens cover is pressed by the fixed lens barrel against the constraining force of the spring, and bisected up and down to expose the face of a photography lens. Moreover, when the fixed lens barrel moves from the photographic position to the collapsed position, the lens cover closes the face of the photography lens due to the constraining force of the spring.
However, the means disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 63-26832 requires incorporation of a mechanism for driving the lens barrier in the lens barrel. This poses a problem that the incorporation of the mechanism makes the inner structure of the lens barrel complex and increases the outer dimensions thereof.
Moreover, the means disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication Nos. 63-26832 and 57-116933, the Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. 61-31308, and the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 3-47536 have a problem that when the camera is brought to a photographic state, since the lens cover juts out of a camera body, the operability for carrying out photography is impaired.
Furthermore, there is a problem that when the camera is carried or in use, if the lens cover juts out of the camera body, the lens cover may be hit at something or that when the camera is held by grabbing the lens cover alone, the coupler for coupling the lens cover with the camera is likely to be broken. For overcoming this drawback, it is conceivable to sufficiently reinforce the coupler for coupling the lens cover with the camera so as to prevent the coupler from being broken readily. In this case, a member forming the coupler gets too large to be used in practice.
As described in the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 3-47536, the collapsible camera in which the fixed lens barrel is moved to different positions between a non-photographic state and photographic state may be designed so that the lens cover is stowed in the fixed lens barrel. In this case, there arises a problem that the outer diameter of the fixed lens barrel gets so large as to deteriorate operability.
By the way, conventionally, when photography is carried out, an accessory, for example, a filter or the like for giving special effects to a result of photography or removing harmful light rays may be attached to the face of a photography lens.
Some kind of filter may always be attached to the face of the photography lens during photography in order also to protect the face of the photography lens.
After photography is completed, when the camera is preserved or carried, the lens cover is closed. At this time, it is found a nuisance to detach the frequently used filter every time the camera is preserved or carried.
However, the means disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 57-116933 does not take account of the fact that the filter or the like may be attached to the front end of the lens barrel. When a front cover is closed with, for example, the filter or the like attached to the front end of the lens barrel, the filter abuts on the front cover. The front cover may not be able to be closed firmly.
Moreover, the means disclosed in the Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. 61-31308 and the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 3-47536 do not, like the means disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 57-116933, take account of the fact that the filter or the like may be attached to the front end of the lens barrel. There is therefore a problem that the lens cover cannot be closed with the filter or the like having a certain thickness attached. In this case, the filter mounted or the like must be removed every time the lens cover must be closed. An extra annoying operation is required.
In the means disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 57-116933, Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. 61-31308, and Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 3-47536, when consideration is taken into the fact that a filter or the like may be attached to the front end of the lens barrel, the space between the lens and cover or the like may be increased by the thickness of the filter or the like. In this case, there arises a problem that the lens barrel or camera body gets too large. For preventing the lens barrel or camera from getting large in size, there is no means except that the filter is attached to the outer side of the lens cover, that is, the object-side thereof.